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DOHA, QATAR - Two of tennis' all-time greats -- Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer -- were a pair of opening-round winners Tuesday at the season-opening $1.024 million Qatar Open.

The top-seeded former world No. 1 Nadal was tested in a 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 victory over capable German Philipp Kohlschreiber, while the second-seeded former No. 1 Federer won his 18th straight match with a 6-2, 6-2 pasting of former top-five star Nikolay Davydenko in a rematch of last year's final here, which was also won by Federer on the hardcourts at Khalifa Tennis Complex. Davydenko won this Australian Open tune-up two years ago.

Nadal got past Kohlschreiber in just over 2 1/2 hours, while Federer tuned up Davydenko in a mere 54 minutes.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion and three-time Doha titlist Federer closed out 2011 as the hottest player in the world, as he won his last 17 matches on his way to three straight titles, including the prestigious ATP World Tour Finals.

BRISBANE, Australia - Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters and second-seeded German Andrea Petkovic were among Tuesday's second-round winners at the 2012 season-opening Brisbane International tennis event.

The injury-plagued Clijsters is playing this week for the first time since August of last year.

Petkovic, who was last year's Brisbane runner-up to Czech slugger Petra Kvitova, battled through the first set before dominating the second to take a 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 victory over Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Meanwhile, French Open runner-up Francesca Schiavone of Italy, seeded third this week, served up six aces and saved 8-of-9 break opportunities by Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan on the way to a 6-4, 6-4 decision.

Also advancing on Day 3 was Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, who rallied from a set down to beat American qualifier Vania King 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Last year's Australian Open runner-up Murray rallied from a set down to beat Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. The two-time Australian Open runner-up from Scotland will next meet Luxembourg's Gilles Muller on Wednesday.

A relieved Murray was happy to get past the game Kukushkin.

"He was hitting winners from all over the place. I was a little bit slow, I didn't expect him to come out swinging like that in the first match of the year," Murray said. "You have to be mentally ready from the start, and I wasn't quite there today."

Nishikori also bounced back from a first-set loss to down German Cedrik- Marcel Stebe 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on the hardcourts at Queensland Tennis Centre. Nishikori was joined in the second round by sixth-seeded Czech veteran Radek Stepanek, who outlasted Aussie Matthew Ebden 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Stepanek titled here in 2009.

Meanwhile, Arn was driven out by fifth-seeded German Julia Goerges 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. Arn captured last year's ASB Classic with a victory in the final over Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, who is seeded seventh this year and downed Czech qualifier Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday. Wickmayer titled here two years ago and is seeking a third straight trip into the ASB final.

Other opening-round winners were Belgian Steve Darcis, Japanese qualifier Go Soeda, Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu, German Andreas Beck and French qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Darcis will meet second-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro's in the round of 16, while Roger-Vasselin will take on the third-seeded and defending champion Wawrinka.